Does optometry guarantee high income?

[jjoeirv]

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(1) Why would optometry be a guaranteed way of making a high income (above $70,000/year)?
(2) Do all optometrists make good money, or only the very good ones?
(3) If an optometry practice does not get much customers, then wouldn't the optometrist earn a low income?
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It seems that you have to attract customers just like any other business, and there is no guarantee that you will have lots of customers. If an optometry practice is just like any other business, then I think that may mean there is an element of risk in pursuing optometry. In addition to the risk of starting up and running a successful business, there is the competition with corporate optical (and with other optometrists), liability and legal concerns, and low reimbursement from managed care (and vision plans). I do not know if whether or not optometrists must also pay money for malpractice insurance too.

 

[rpames]

Like everything, there is no guaranteed way to make money, but you can pretty much count on 70k+ If you go in to commercial (I shudder), the starting salery is almost alway 70k+(I think). There are some who make 100k. The income problem with commercial practice is that you may start out a 85k, but they don't give you many raises. You pretty much are set at that level. If you enter a private/group practice, you may enter at the same level (80k), but you most likely be making 120k in a couple years. The average OD was making about 120k last time I checked, but you can make 200k to.
Regardless of the route you take, you can be "guaranteed" a pretty nice income.

Do all ODs make good money? Of course not. There are some how starve to death because they suck. I know some MDs who suck and starve to death because no one will go to them. You have to be "good" to make money. That goes for any job.

Private ODs make less? Even if they see fewer patients, they can easily make more money. A comercial OD is either on salary so it does not matte how many they see, or they get ~$45 a patient (that number is a guess). That means the only money they see comes from that exam. When the patient goes to the optical section and buys lenses and frames, the OD see none of that money. In private, the OD owns the optical section.

Private/group ODs also tend to make money on the more medical part of optometry. There is more co-managment between ophth. and private ODs. In those cases, the OD send the patient to the ophth for surgery, and the OD does all the pre and post surgical stuff. Also, many chain stores don't like thier ODs to treat eye disease. Therefore the chain OD has to send the patient to someone else to do all the medical treatment, even though they are trained to treat it. The chains don't want the OD to "waste" time treating eye disease because the chain only really makes money if they sell frames. There are some chains who allow the ODs to do it, but many do not.

 

[r_salis]

If you're looking for a health profession where you're going to earn a lot of cash with minimal effort, optometry is not the way to do it. My vote for best return-on-investment for your education $$$ is to go with pharmacy. No pharmacy-bashing here by any means (one of my best friends is a pharmacist) -- but it is a fabulous career if you want a guarantee that there is a big box of money waiting for you at your graduation from professional school.

jjoeirv -- I'm not sure where you're going with your post, but I hope you're not considering (or bashing) optometry based solely on financial considerations. 🙁

 

[valine1212]

Just some things to add here,

According to american optometric association, the average for optometrist is about 70k, The median of optometrists is about $82k. Now....as we all learn some stats, you should know there are some people makes less than 70k and some that are on the high end(like 200k). The 120k rpames mentioned is correct however, that figure is for private OD who are in practice 10+ years so I wouldnt count on that heavily.

I dont think there's any profession that guarantee high incomes. Even MDs or other professional degrees like JD. Just like my professor always said, it take more than just good grades and good clinical skills to make money in the real world. That includes personality, people skills, management skills and others. A good doctor will always find his market...even in a crowded area.

 

[rpames]

From the US Dept. of Labor
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos073.htm

Median annual earnings of salaried optometrists were $82,860 in 2000. The middle 50 percent earned between $60,310 and $111,520. Median annual earnings of salaried optometrists in 2000 were $89,460 in offices and clinics of medical doctors and $85,470 in offices of other health practitioners. Salaried optometrists tend to earn more initially than do optometrists who set up their own independent practice. In the long run, those in private practice usually earn more.



According to the American Optometric Association, median net income for all optometrists in private practice ranged from about $115,000 to $120,000 in 2000.

 

[Brill]

"Just like my professor always said, it take more than just good grades and good clinical skills to make money in the real world. That includes personality, people skills, management skills and others. A good doctor will always find his market...even in a crowded area."

I'm glad you mentioned this. It seems like a lot of people tend to overlook the fact that in a business that involves attracting customers (i.e. patients) simply having an OD or an MD behind your name won't guarantee you money, even if you have awesome clinical skills. Personality and people skills go a long way in my experience. I know one optometrist who is struggling in a private practice making only about 40-50k a year (after quite a few years in practice) because the guy is, for lack of a better word, an dingus. Another optometrist I know who has been practicing about the same amount of time is pulling in well over six figures most likely due in large part to the fact that he's one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. Personally, I switched optometrists a few years ago because the one I was seeing was a jerk. He knew what he was doing, but he was rude and arrogant.

I'd say recruiting and attracting patients and a hefty amount of networking would go a long way too.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[oldandtired]

For the most part, any board certified medical doctor is guaranteed a relatively high salary. Especially a field like radiology where the average private practitioner makes $300K.😀

 

[LSUMED2006]

Originally posted by Brill
[B It seems like a lot of people tend to overlook the fact that in a business that involves attracting customers (i.e. patients) simply having an OD or an MD behind your name won't guarantee you money, even if you have awesome clinical skills. [/B]

I'm going to have to agree w/ oldandtired. Being an MD basically guarantees a great to unbelievable income. Even the generally lowest paid fields (peds, FP) average 135-150k. There are plenty of fields that one could easily expect to make 200-300k or far beyond. Of course, teh hours may be long (though this is not always the case) and the road is always very difficult...


Jason

 

[Brill]

I'm saying that it's not guaranteed in the sense that simply being an OD or MD assures you a high income regardless of how you practice (especially not in urban areas where the doctor : patient ratio is high). I would agree that being an MD guarantees a high income if work ethic, personality, etc. are assumed, but that's not always the case.